What if Paul hadn’t stood his ground so firmly for a grace only salvation message for the Gentiles?

What if Abraham didn’t take Hagar into his bed? What if he didn’t have Ishmael as a son?

There is another story in 1 Samuel 13 that I think “what if”? The battle lines were drawn with the Philistines. Their army was mammoth and the Israelite army was starting to quake in their sandals. Saul was supposed to wait for Samuel to offer sacrifices to God and seek Him. Instead of waiting, Saul became anxious and offered the sacrifice himself.

As I write this I’ve never seen our country more disunified than it is right now. Racial tension is at an all-time high for my lifetime (I realize others who lived through the 60’s have seen more). And let’s not even mention political tension. The proverbial lines in the sand are being drawn on both sides of most major issues. Hatred is overshadowing love. And even some of those who preach tolerance have let the pendulum swing to the other side.

Of course, any historian will tell you this is nothing new. In fact, compared to the time of conquering empires, such as Alexander the Great, it’s quite peaceful. However, at least in my lifetime, I’ve never observed such hatred from those on both sides of the issues.

I really hope you have enjoyed this series of thoughts on parenting my wife & I thought we would share. It is by no means a complete list. I’m sure you have some lessons you have learned too –we’d love to hear about them. Please share them in the comments below. If you missed any of the previous blogs, I would encourage you to check them out (part 1, part 2 & part 3).

SUPPORT YOUR SPOUSE

I thought of putting this under BE CAREFUL LITTLE EARS WHAT YOU HEAR, but there is so much more to it than just speaking well of our spouses. Parenting is HARD (Massive understatement)!!! And having a built in support system is wise. It’s important to be on the same page as parents and to be unified on a decision, as much as possible. Now this is a blog on parenting, not marriage — I don’t want to change direction — so I know there may be some saying, yeah but…

This is the third part in a series My wife & I thought we would share on parenting. Each blog shares a couple parenting realizations we’ve had. I say realizations because sometimes it feels that way. Like you’re stumbling, but hopefully stumbling forward. Some of the “realizations” are born out of mistakes we’ve made and others are lessons we learned from others. If you missed part one or two, I would encourage you to check them out (part 1 & part 2).

TALK ABOUT YOUR FAITH AS A FAMILY

There are a lot of great parents who will say that you need to do family devotions. In fact, Janelle and I used to think we were bad parents because we didn’t do family devotions. It’s probably a very special time for some families who are having wonderful experiences with their own children. When Janelle & I were growing up, both of our families would do a family devotion from time to time and we didn’t enjoy it at all. (Sorry mom and dad!).

So we needed to try to find other ways to disciple our kids that didn’t require a fixed regular time and format. It’s a little more organic. Depending on your personality, it can be more difficult because you have to look for moments…or make them. So, if family devotions are working for you, please continue, but if (like us) you are looking for an alternative way of discipling your children, here are a few suggestions: